"Judy Feder is a breast cancer patient who has been living with a Stage IV diagnosis since December, 2001. With mets to the lungs and liver, she has been heavily pre-treated with both chemotherapy and hormonal therapies. Last fall, facing significant progression in her liver, she asked her oncologist about the serum Her2 blood test (also known as Her2 ELISA). Her doctor tested her twice, and each time the results indicated she was Her+, even though multiple biopsies had returned Her2- results.
Based on this, Judy began Herceptin (with Navelbine) in late January. She has yet to be scanned, but physical examinations indicate a marked response, especially in the left lobe of her liver, which had been almost entirely replaced by tumor.
Her experience has motivated her to find out more about the serum Her2 test, and another blood test sometimes used to measure Her2 status, known as CTC (circulating tumor cell). The existing research is inconclusive, so she has started a grassroots effort to build a patient registry of people who may have been given these tests. She has asked us to provide a link the survey she created to build the registry:
https://vovici.com/wsb.dll/s/955fg3d09c She would be grateful if everyone, regardless of their current Her2 status, would take the survey and become part of the registry. Judy will share results with us and, even more importantly, she hopes the results will provide additional insight into Her2 testing and the potential benefits of Her2-targeted therapies.
Judy's efforts are completely independent. She is not working with any companies or other organizations to do this. She just believes in patient power. If you have any questions, please feel free to e-mail Judy at
jfeder@brodeur.com."